3 months later

"Kagami" Aomine shouted from across the room.

"What is it?"

"My mom wants to know if we want to go eat dinner with her and my dad tonight" he said looking at his phone.

"….that would be my first time meeting your parents…"Kagami said nervously.

"Oh yeah" the blunet said observing Kagami. "It's fine though. They're really nice. Although my mom may ask you a lot of questions. But she means well. And as for my dad….well he doesn't talk much, he just likes to watch" Aomine explained trying to ease Kagami's nerves.

"Well, I suppose it's fine. You've been staying at my place for a while, so I guess I had to meet them eventually" The red head said to himself.

"Ok, then I'll text her back and tell her we'll be going tonight.

As Aomine texted his mother back, Kagami withdrew himself into the kitchen, acting like he was looking for something to drink. 'I'm gonna meet his parents…' he thought, 'how should I act…will they like me? What if they don't like me?' The red head began to worry more and more about how Aomine's parents would view him. "A-Aomine, do I have to bring something? Like chocolates or something for them?"

"Huh?" Aomine lifted his head from his phone, "They don't need anything and it's not like this is like it's a special event or anything like that either"

"Ah, I see I see"

Aomine glanced over at Kagami who clearly seemed to be nervous about meeting his parents.

"You know…it's not like everyone is gonna hate you" the blunet said while approaching Kagami.

"T-that's not what I was thinking!"

"Hm…" at this point, Aomine was right in front of him, "Well either way it doesn't really matter"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Aomine leaned in closer to Kagami, "Even if everyone hates you, I'll always like you"

Kagami blushed "Y-you – saying corny lines like that doesn't suit you...Aho"

The blunet chuckled then placed a kiss on Kagami's cheek.

Kagami quickly placed his hand on the place Aomine kissed. "Will you stop with that! Why do you have to go kissing me all the damn time!?" He exclaimed as he pushed Aomine away.

"Why you ask…" Aomine's face looked serious. "I told you before that I love you didn't I?"

Kagami blushed remembering the incident from a few months ago. Kagami gritted his teeth before speaking, "You said that but…but there's no difference! The only thing different from before is that you'll kiss me every now and then! Do you think that's gonna make me fall for you?! I'm not some vulnerable girl who swoons over someone simply cuz they kiss me!"

The blunet was surprised by what Kagami yelled at him. He was speechless. He did tell Kagami that he loved him, but after that…after that what? He didn't know how to behave after telling him that, so he thought it'd be best to just act like normal. However, since he told Kagami that he loved him, he thought it was fine to at least kiss him every now and then. Was he going about everything wrong?

"Um...anyway I'll go get changed now" The red head said retreating to his room.

"Kagami wai-" Aomine tried to prevent him from leaving, but was too late. "Has he always felt that way?" he asked himself

Kagami threw himself onto his bed and stared up at his ceiling. "I can't believe I just blurted that out…" He closed his eyes 'Is that how I really felt? I mean all those words just…just came out. Ever since he confessed to me, nothing's changed. He said he'd make me fall for him, but I see no effort on his part…' he thought, 'it's frustrating. He had the guts to say all of that, but doesn't have the guts to act on it…' Kagami abruptly sat up. 'W-w-w-wait! It's not like I want him to do anything…it's just…it's just why bother going through all the effort to confess to someone, but then not do anything afterwards…isn't it pointless…' The red head let out a deep sigh, 'He's probably a virgin anyway'

"Achooooo!" Aomine sneezed. "Oi, Kagami! Are you ready yet?"

Kagami came out of his room dressed in a black long sleeve and cargo shorts. "Ya, do we have to take the subway there?"

"Ya, but it's only a few stops away so it isn't that bad"

"Do I really not need to bring anything?"

Aomine slightly squinted his eyes, "You're still worried about that? I told you it was fine. They'll be happy enough to see that we're visiting"

"If you say so"

As they walked towards the front door, the blunet decided to ask something, "Hey Kagami…about before…I didn't know you felt that way. I just didn't know how to act from now on. I want to give you some time to think about how you feel and grow to like me more"

Kagami let out a sigh, "I get that, but I think you're going about it the wrong way"

"Then how should I act"

"Huh?! How am I supposed to know? You figure that for yourself"

"Hmm…I see"

Kagami turned around to see Aomine with a smug grin on his face. He felt a shiver down his spine, "E-ew why does your face look like that"

Aomine chuckled, "It's nothing, just had a thought"

'I don't like the way that sounds' the red head thought to himself. "Anyway, we should go now"

"Mhm, but don't act like you know where you're going"

The two exited the apartment and made their way to Aomine's place.

"Daiki!" Aomine's mom shouted as they entered the house. She ran up to him giving him a suffocating hug.

"M-mom you're squeezing to hard" the blunet said trying to catch his breath.

Kagami flinched upon hearing that.

"Oh goodness!" she released him. "I'm sorry, it's just been a while since I last saw you" she giggled. She then turned her attention to Kagami, who seemed to be quite uncomfortable. "And you must be Kagami, it's nice to meet you" She said with a smile.

"I-it's nice to meet you too…Mrs. Aomine"

"Now now don't be shy" she grabbed Kagami by the wrist, tugging him towards the dining room. Aomine followed. "I heard that you eat a lot, so I made lots of food" She let go of Kagami's wrist. "Feel free to grab as much food as you like"

"Mom" Aomine said pinching the bridge of his nose, "You really didn't need to do all of this"

"I wanted to do this, so I did" She chuckled.

The blunet let out a sigh, "By the way, where's dad"

"Hm? Oh, he's right behind you"

Aomine was startled to see his father standing behind him. The man was about as tall as Aomine. He tanned skin, but surprisingly his hair was a deep brown rather than a dark blue. However, him and Aomine had the same haircut.

"Dad, at least say something when you're around" he said while playfully.

"Sorry" the man said. He turned his attention towards Kagami. The red head stiffly adjusted his posture. 'He has the same eyes as Aomine when he's playing basketball…' he thought.

"This is Kagami. I've been crashing at his place for a while" Aomine said.

"It's nice to meet you" Kagami bowed. He felt the need to act overly respectful towards Aomine's father for some reason.

His father just nodded his head. He then signaled to Kagami to stand up straight, "There's no reason to be so formal" was all he said before taking a seat at the dinner table.

"I told you before that my dad doesn't say much. But it's because he's like that that people tend to think that they need to be so formal. He seems to like you though" Aomine reassured Kagami.

After grabbing a plateful of food, the two took a seat at the table.

"So Kagami, is it alright living with Daiki? He tends to leave a mess wherever he goes, and he's not good with housework, nor can he cook" Mrs. Aomine explained.

"It's true that he's not very good at cooking or anything, but he's been making kind of an effort to clean up after himself" The red head said before taking a bite out of his food.

"Eh~ is that so. How'd you get him to do that?" She asked curiously.

"I don't know, he just started doing it not too long ago"

"So you're telling me that Daiki, my son, has just decided to start cleaning up after himself all of a sudden?"

Kagami just nodded his head.

She then turned her attention to Aomine. She gave a signal with her eyes. It read 'I know you're up to something' Aomine just pretended like he didn't see anything.

"Aaanyway, how have you guys been? I'm not here, so you guys have a lot of alone time I guess" the blunet asked.

"Oh just the usual nothing special" she chuckled. His father seemed to have had a slight grim on his face.

Once everyone started finishing their food, Aomine's mom was the first to leave the table, bringing any dirty dishes into the kitchen.

"Do you need any help?" Kagami asked her, while grabbing some of the plates.

"Oh! How nice of you" she chuckled. "If you don't mind helping, I'd greatly appreciate it. It'd be nice if Daiki came to help a little too"

Kagami turned around to see that Aomine was still at the table with his dad, "Well it seems he wanted to talk to his dad"

She glanced over at the two, "Ah, you're right. He's always been attached to his dad. He was practically the one who introduced basketball to Daiki. He always used to bring him to the outdoor court in the park when he was young." She said reminiscing. "How about you Kagami?"

"What?" Kagami asked confused.

"You have to have some good memories of your father as well. Like him taking you to the movies when you were young or anything like that."

Kagami stared at her, then cleared his throat before talking, "Well…my father…my father, he worked a lot so I didn't see him too often"

"Ah- I'm sorry for asking" she said apologetically. "B-but, I bet he really wanted to spend time with you!"

Kagami gave a pained smile, "I hope that was the case"

She looked up at him confused by his response, "What is tha-"

"But," Kagami interrupted, "My mother…she made up for all that while I was growing up. She always played with me, took me places, and even taught me so many things"

"Oh, well that's good then!" she patted him on the back. "It's always good to have someone there for you" She gave him such a gleaming smile; he couldn't help but smile back at her.

"…that's true" he unconsciously glanced over at Aomine, who seemed to have been having a good time chatting with his father.

"I guess that's the last of them. Thank you for helping me" She said rubbing Kagami's back.

"It's no problem" He walked back into the dining room where Aomine and his father were.

"Oh, are you guys done already?" Aomine asked.

"Yeah, we just finished"

"Ah okay" the blunet glanced over towards his dad, "I suppose it's time to go"

His father patted him on the head, "See you soon then"

Aomine let out a huge grin, one of which Kagami wasn't used to seeing. 'So he can smile like that' the red head thought to himself.

The two bowed and said goodbye to Aomine's parents and made their way back home.

They walked through the town underneath the dark starry sky, the street lights being the only thing illuminating their surroundings. The two were walking side by side in silence before Kagami started to fall behind. Aomine turned around to see the red head staring up at the sky. 'What's wrong with him?' Aomine thought to himself, 'He's been acting kinda weird since we left'. He tried waiting patiently for Kagami to say something, but when a minute went by without the red head saying anything, he decided to ask, "What's wrong? You've been a little weird since we left my place"

Kagami continued to stare up at the sky, "I really like your mom"

"Um yeah…she's pretty cool isn't she…" he didn't say much since he thought it may be best to listen to what Kagami was saying.

"She.." the red head let out a heavy sigh, "She reminds me of my mother…carefree, loving, and positive. Seeing how you and her interacted with each other reminded me of the times me and my mother shared…" it soon became difficult for him to continue talking, "…All the times she nagged…all the times she helped me…she…she was always there for me. She promised to always be with me…she said we'd all be together forever. But even after saying that, she still left…not only did she leave, she didn't bother-" tears slowly started to trickle from his eyes "She didn't bother to say anything, she left me behind with nothing" His light sniffles started to become loud sobs. "Was all the kindness she showed me lies. Did she really never care about me? Was I burden to her? Why?!"

"…Kagami" Aomine came up to him, embracing him as closely as he could. "I'm sorry that happened," the blunet wasn't sure if Kagami could hear him through the cries that filled the warm air or if he was even listening at all, but he wanted to tell Kagami all of this, "But I'm sure that she didn't just leave to abandon you, I'm sure she had her own reasons. If all you said about her looking after you is true, then I'm sure she will return one day. However, in the meantime, I will be with you. I refuse to leave you even if you push me away." He placed his hands on Kagami's cheeks, exposing his crying face to the blunet. Aomine then moved his face closer to the red head, "I'll always be here for you so please, please don't cry anymore" he gently whispered before pulling Kagami into an intimate kiss. The red head was still in tears as Aomine kissed him, but slowly, those rash breathes became calm light breathes. After breaking the kiss, Aomine pressed his forehead against Kagami's forehead, "I love you okay, no matter what happens, just know that I'll always love you"

8 years ago

"Taiga, get out from under there. It's dangerous"

"B-but you're mad at me aren't you? I-I broke your favorite mug" The young boy said in tears

The woman let out a sigh, "It's just a mug it can be replaced"

"No! You're just saying that! You hate me don't you" the boy whined.

"Taiga" she tried getting the boys attention, but he just continued crying. "Taiga!" She strongly yelled. Startled, the boy looked at her, eyes full of tears. She looked him in the eyes and softly spoke, "The mug doesn't matter. I can have hundreds of mugs if I wanted to, but I can only have one of you". The boy started to calm down. She continued, "I love you, you understand. No matter what happens, no matter what you do, I will always love okay? Now come here." She reached her hand out towards him.

The boy was hesitant at first, but he accepted the hand, allowing her to pull him out. "I-I'll get you a new mug" he nervously said.

She just chuckled, holding on tightly to the boy's hand. The warmth of her hand allowed the boy to calm down.

Kagami felt something within him as he heard Aomine's words. 'I love you okay, no matter what happens, just know that I'll always love you'. It wasn't the first time Kagami heard those words, however, it felt oddly…different when Aomine said them. He glanced at Aomine's face, which was still very close to his. He felt an overwhelming tightness in his chest. 'What is this feeling?' he thought to himself.

Kagami snapped out of his daze upon hearing the blunet. "Better?" Aomine gently asked.

"Y-yeah" the red head nodded his head.

"Good!" Aomine said smiling widely.

Kagami's eyes widened when he saw this, 'So there is someone who can smile at me like that'